StarLadder - The Chase is On!

Table of Contents

As the dust settles over the latest major in Shanghai, we turn our attention towards Kiev and the StarLadder Invitational’s 5th Season. With TI8 creeping ever closer and none of the current Top 7 in DPC rankings present, this is a rare chance for the attendees to make up for lost ground. Although a Minor lacks the prestige and complete competition of a Major, the action will be no less fierce as all the teams still need to book their tickets to Vancouver.Tune into the action over the week as 8 teams chase these elusive points and duke it out amongst themselves!

Group A - A Brawl beneath the Moonlight

Welcome to Group A and it’s decidedly hard to predict competitors. While the prior results would lead one to assume that VG.J Thunder has the clear edge as, after all, they are still placed 8th in the DPC, their inconsistency makes it difficult. If they can learn from their most recent Top 12 elimination during DAC and show up in good form, Sylar & Co. should advance smoothly. But if their play is jittery again, they might just be in for a rude awakening.

Speaking about inconsistency, we obviously cannot leave out OpTic Gaming in this discussion. With wildly fluctuating results all over the place and still not a single point for TI collected, it is way past time for OpTic to pick up steam or they might just miss the train to Vancouver. Ppd’s squad still has a long way to go before he can unironically say that NA dota is the best.

For Team Kinguin, the past couple of months have seen them cool off bit compared to their explosive start when they first burst onto the scene. While they certainly would have hoped to make their mark during Katowice, it will be much easier in Kiev during Starladder. Without a clear favorite in the group, they might just have the chance to sneak into the playoffs with stable and safe play. This group also offers them the chance to settle the score with FlyToMoon for the loss they suffered in the Bo1-hell of Epicenter’s last chance qualifier in the much preferable Bo3-setting.

And FlyToMoon...Who are they actually? Formed back in February with quite well-known CIS names such as Silent, ALWAYSWANNAFLY, Iceberg, and Nofear, they have rapidly made an impact in the volatile CIS region and qualified not only to this Minor but also for the upcoming Epicenter XL. As Starladder will be their first LAN appearance, it remains to be seen if they can translate their success so far on to interregional competition. It seems unlikely, but in this group full of uncertainties and chaos, nothing is impossible. VGJ and OpTic should make it out of this group, but upsets would not surprise me.

Group B - Fnatic on Top

Predictions:

Vega 2-1 SGFnatic 2-0 Na`ViVega 0-2 FnaticSG 1-2 Na`ViVega 2-1 Na`Vi

Heading Group B is the runner-up from DAC2018: LGD Gaming or... they would have, if they did not cancel last minute due to fatigue and exhaustion. With the Chinese out of the equation, it falls to Fnatic to lead the group. Missing out on DAC must have especially stung them quite a bit considering how well their SEA brethren had done in Shanghai by snatching 2 of the Top 4 spots and even clinching the long-awaited first SEA Major championship. Envy’s squad will be looking to equal Mineski’s DAC performance here in Kiev in order to close the gap DPC’s Top 8.Fnatic has also announced that 343 will be playing in place of Pieliedie during the event as a substitute, how this will effect the team remains to be seen.

For the other three members of Group B, Kiev will be a very different challenge. Announced as the last-minute replacement for LGD, Vega Squadron have very large shoes to fill and is expected to struggle. Although their current form is not too bad in the closed environment of the CIS region, success at LAN finals has so far eluded them. It remains to be seen if they are able to translate their qualifier successes on to the big stage, just recently clinching the CIS slot for MDL Changsha over Team Spirit.

The neverending story of Na`Vi has just recently been continued for yet another chapter of roster drama. Although the cryptic announcements turned out to be more smoke than fire in the end, it can be safely assumed that team cohesion is not exactly a strength of the black and yellow right now. Ever since since RodjER left for the greener pastures at Virtus.Pro, the trajectory of Na`Vi has only known a downwards direction. Since it will be one of the few remaining chance to snag points for Vancouver, you can hope that they finally get a hold of themselves and shape up but that hope should be very skittish by now.

Rounding out the group will be will be SG esports. Part of the regular South American trio rotation of Pain Gaming, Infamous and SG to place in the bottom half at tournaments, there is little to assume Starladder will be any different. Unless the freak upset happening on the level of SG vs. Secret, there seem be no surprises in this group with Fnatic comfortably making the Playoffs. The real question of Group B will be who gets to slide into second place for those all-important DPC points. With Vega and Na`Vi being very familiar rivals from the same region, we are guaranteed some fierce matches to decide who gets to represent CIS in the Playoffs.